2011 Feb 09

Our Spokesdog: If an insurance company can have a gecko, we have decided that we can have a spokesdog. Boomer, shown at right, is our spokesdog. If you select Boomer's picture, you will be able to view Boomer at his work.

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WigJig Jewelry Making Design Contest:

During the next two months, we are going to hold a design contest. Anyone who would like to submit a design for consideration is welcome. The project submitted must be made out of wire and/or beads using one of our WigJig tools. It should be your original work. Please select only projects that you are willing to allow us to publish in our newsletter. We will select monthly winners and after three months we will select an Grand Prize Winner in April 2011. All the winners designs will be published in our WigJig newsletter along with instructions on how to make the winning design. Winning designs will be selected based upon originality, and artistic content. We are seeking designs that are entirely new, or show a new way of employing components from our web site. Preference will be given to designs that are suitable for advanced beginners to intermediate wire workers. Designs that are so advanced that we could not describe how to make them in fewer than ten pages, will be considered, but designs that are easy to document will be given preference in the judging. Designs that use materials that are readily available will be given preference. The materials do not need to be purchased from our WigJig store, but need to be available for purchase at some Internet store.

Monthly winners will receive a $100 credit in our WigJig store. The grand prize winner will be selected from the three monthly prize winners and will receive an additional $200 credit in our WigJig store.

To submit a jewelry design for consideration in this contest, you will need to send us an e-mail including your name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, and one or more pictures of your jewelry design. Please send your e-mails to info@wigjig.com. Please use "WigJig Design Contest" as the subject line in your e-mail.

Facebook: Starting with this newsletter we will provide two ways for our readers to share portions of our newsletter with their Facebook friends. At the top of the newsletter, in the line that includes Google Translate, and a link to Sign up to receive this newsletter, we will provide a Facebook "Like" link that will allow you to add this newsletter to your Facebook page. We will also provide a link on our new jewelry making design for that newsletter to "Share" that design with your Facebook friends. For our readers with Facebook friends, please use our "Like" and "Share" buttons. You can also view these two links below.

Birthstone for February: The birthstone for February is the amethyst. Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz (Silicon Dioxide) and as such has a hardness of 7. Amethyst as an element in jewelry was known since antiquity and was very popular among the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. The name amethyst comes from a Greek word meaning "not drunken". This name was devised because the ancient Greeks believed that drinking from an amethyst cup could prevent intoxication. (Boomer sez don't try this at home. It doesn't work.) While amethyst was traditionally included among the "cardinal", or most valuable gemstones (including diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald), amethyst has recently declined in price/value due to the discovery of extensive deposits of the gemstone.

There is some diversity of opinion on the chemical source of the purple color in amethyst. Interesting enough, upon exposure to heat, amethyst becomes yellow. In fact, citrine, a yellow variety of quartz, is sometimes called "burnt amethyst". Please select here to view more information on amethyst gemstones.We sell mined amethyst, man-made amethyst and amethyst colored Cubic Zirconia. Please select either picture above to view our selection of Amethyst gemstones.

New Jewelry Making Supplies:

Since our last newsletter we have added several new Precosia glass crystal beads to our inventory. Precosia is one of the leading bead manufacturers in the Czech Republic. These beads are a high quality alternative to Swarovski, Austrian crystal beads at a slightly lower price. Please see the table below to view our new selection of Precosia beads. Our initial purchase of Precosia beads is limited to crystal AB beads only. Please select any picture below to view that item in our Internet store.

We update the jewelry supplies that we have "On Sale" with every newsletter. A small sample of the products we have for sale at discounted prices are shown below. Please click on any of the links below the pictures to view our entire list of sale items. Select the picture itself to view that specific item in our Internet Store. This sale will be effective through March 1st, 2011 or until we run out of that item.

Our new jewelry making project for this newsletter is an earring design to go along with our Double 8s bracelet from last month. You can view this earring design at right. This earring design uses a new connector at the top and a "V" shaped component at the bottom along with three double 8 wire components as links. Below the "V" shaped component at the bottom we hang three teardrop shaped beads. In the earring at right, we used our new Precosia beads, item 3512, for our bead dangles at the bottom of the earrings.

You can view our pattern for making the new top and "V" shaped bottom wire components for these earrings at left. For the earrings shown we used 18 gauge wire for the double 8's wire components and the top and bottom component. We used 20 gauge wire to make the figure 8 connectors that connect the tiers of wire components.

Based upon the feedback we have received so far, we believe that this earring design will be very popular.

Past Jewelry Making Techniques:

We maintain a techniques web page that provides links to the discussion of techniques in our prior newsletters. You can visit this web page here. Follow the links on that page to the discussion of the technique in that newsletter.

Current Jewelry Making Technique:

This month's jewelry making technique is several new designs for an ear wire that we call the Omega Ear Wire Finding because it resembles the Greek letter Omega. We have a few alternative designs for this ear wire and you can view them below.

This is a beginner's jewelry making project and uses any WigJig jewelry making jig along with three Super Pegs for that jig. Like all ear wire projects, this ear wire uses 20 or 21 gauge wire.

The ear wires shown in the center two pictures above have the interchangeable feature. You can remove your bead dangle and replace it with a different one. This makes this design very versatile.

The alternative shown far right above is configured so that it will stay on even when using lighter beads. This makes this particular design a good choice for people who are susceptible to losing their earrings.

Jewelry Making: From beginner to expert levels

Welcome to the wonderful world of WigJig Jewelry Making! WigJig.com is your perfect resource for the most beautiful, elegant and fun jewelry making techniques, jewelry making supplies, wire jewelry making advice, jewelry making tools, jewelry making instructions videos and much, much more!
Searching for one, particular technique for making jewelry that suits both your jewelry making skill level and your interest? Explore our WigJig Jewelry Making Learn section to discover clear and versatile jewelry making designs and WigJig patterns for:

Necklace Making

Bracelet Making

Ring Making

Beads

Jewelry Wire

Our unique Learn section will help you find the jewelry making designs and jewelry making techniques intended for your level of jewelry making expertise. You'll learn easy methods for making jewelry that looks beautiful! This outstanding, encyclopedic WigJig University of information is an exclusive jewelry making hub that few jewelry tools vendors or jewelry making techniques resources offer jewelry making experts and beginners.

WigJig has the expert jewelry making advice to help you create the right jewelry for any occasion. Whether it's a for a holiday ornament, birthday present or just a gift to say thank you, WigJig has the jewelry making designs, beads, wire jewelry supplies and jewelry making techniques that are right for you.

WigJig.com has patented WigJig patterns for jewelry making and jewelry making techniques that make your jewelry making designs even easier to complete. WigJig jewelry making jigs are our own you can't find through your average jewelry making class. We also offer jewelry making tools that no one else has - our amazingly helpful WigJig jewelry making jigs! Our WigJig jigs help you with making jewelry effortlessly and other WigJig jewelry making tools are helpful for anyone, whether you're a beginner who's new to jewelry making or up at the Intermediate levels of jewelry making and wire jewelry expertise.

So explore, enjoy, learn and create! Let WigJig.com inspire you and your jewelry making creativity to take flight!